1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of plugs and more specifically relates to boat plugs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recreational and commercial boating is very popular throughout the world. During boating excursions it is very common to get water within the boat that may be drained at a later time such as when the boat is removed from the water. Problems exist should the boat become swamped during use in the middle of a body of water due to poor weather, damage to the boat bottom, or choppy wave conditions. Should this occur the lives of the occupants may be endangered as well as the boat may be potentially damaged or lost. To account for this, boats are typically provided with drain holes and/or bailing devices.
Bailing devices may be impractical when any volume of water has entered the boat. Normally the occupants are not able to bail quickly enough to save the boat from sinking. Attempts to devise an improved drain plug for the drain hole to solve the mentioned problem have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,394,671, 3,550,548, 3,565,031, 4,217,846, 6,615,760. 6,615,760 to Wise et al. is incorporated by reference herein. These mentioned patents provide examples of apparatuses with various types of ball valves for automatically draining water from a boat that seal when the boat is not moving through the water.
These boat valves have their drawbacks however. These valve systems do not provide for easily disassembling the valve in order to clean or otherwise maintain the drain hole of the boat. Further, disassembly requires additional tools that need to be carried with the boat and may be easily misplaced or lost.
Accordingly, there is a need in the field of boat valves for an improved boat valve that allows for easy disassembly.